Lamine Yamal is reportedly set to wear the iconic no. 10 shirt at Barcelona next season after signing his new contract with Catalan side this summer.
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Yamal to be handed the iconic No.10 shirt
Yamal to sign lengthy extension at Barcelona
Barcelona to include €1 billion release clause
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WHAT HAPPENED?
To say that Yamal has been in top form this season would be undermining exactly how good the 17-year-old has performed for Barcelona, as he has been a major part of the Catalan side's domestic treble. The La Masia graduate came up through the ranks at Barcelona as a 15-year-old under Xavi Hernandez, and under Hansi Flick has transformed himself into one of the best players in the world, who could even be a front-runner for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Yamal has been considered the heir to eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi over the course of the last 18 months. As per Memorabilia1899.co, Barcelona are now reportedly set to hand the teenager the Argentine legend's famed No. 10 jersey, which is currently worn by Ansu Fati. The Guinea-Bissau-born star was termed as the original heir to Messi, however, his untimely injuries have meant that he has fallen far down the pecking order at the Catalan club and may now be set to leave the club this summer.
TELL ME MORE…
Barcelona are also set to hand Yamal a new contract once he turns 18 to tie him down to the club on a lengthy contract. The Catalan side, led by Joan Laporta, want to avoid any sort of funny transfer business, similar to what happened with Neymar Jr. in 2017, and are hence going to add a release clause of €1 billion (£840m/1.1b).
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DID YOU KNOW?
Yamal is currently wearing the No. 19 jersey at Barcelona, which was also the number worn by Messi at the Catalan club, prior to being handed the famed No. 10 shirt in 2008.
Depois de anunciar na última terça-feira (5) o retorno do atacante Guilherme ao clube, o Grêmio apresentou oficialmente o reforço ofensivo nesta quarta em entrevista coletiva dada no CT Luiz Carvalho.
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Nome que passou sem destaque pela equipe profissional do tricolor em 2016, o atleta hoje com 27 anos de idade precisou rodar o futebol brasileiro para, efetivamente, mostrar seu valor em especial com as atuações defendendo Botafogo e Sport.
Recentemente, Guilherme estava no futebol do Oriente Médio onde ficou de janeiro de 2020 até o último mês de junho entre atuações com as camisas de Al-Faisaly-ARA e Al Dhafra-EAU.
Respondendo como enxergava a possibilidade de conseguir “deslanchar” no Imortal em sua segunda passagem, o atacante entende que a maturidade e a experiência adquirida ao longo dos anos lhe dão confiança para escrever uma história diferente no Grêmio:
– Acredito que tenho muito a agregar. Tive muito tempo longe, tive várias experiências muito boas. Saí daqui menino, com 21 anos, namorando. Hoje volto casado, com dois filhos, maduro, muito mais profissional e pronto para mais do que ajudar, fazer muitos gols e colocar esse gigante do futebol brasileiro no lugar dele que é a Série A.
Guilherme retorna ao clube para ser dirigido justamente pelo treinador que lhe deu as primeiras oportunidades na primeira passagem, Roger Machado. Algo que, em sua visão, foi um fator que pesou na decisão de retorno:
-O Roger me ligou e eu ainda estava nos Emirados, jogando lá. Eu já tinha o contato dele salvo. Olhei a tela do celular e li lá Roger Machado deu uma balançada. Foi uma conversa sadia, conversa de pai para filho. O meu primeiro abraço, quando eu cheguei, ele me chamou de filhão. É um cara que tenho um carinho enorme, minha família tem um carinho enorme. Paizão, trocamos uma ideia muito top, ficamos um bom tempo no telefone, mas em resumo ele não precisou de muito para me convencer a voltar.
Apesar da necessidade de reforços vivida pelo Grêmio, o clube só poderá utilizar nomes como Guilherme e Lucas Leiva a partir do próximo dia 18 de julho, data de abertura oficial da janela de transferências no futebol brasileiro.
Fair to say, this season is going rather well at Parkhead for Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are currently ten points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with a game in hand, are through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup and have already got their hands on the League Cup, defeating Rangers on penalties in December.
Meantime, the Hoops have reached the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 12 seasons, so go into Wednesday night’s clash with Aston Villa with the pressure off, still seeking to finish as high up the table as possible.
In the transfer market, it’s been a mixed week for the Celtic support, with fans’ favourite Jota returning from Stade Rennais, 18 months after departing for the Saudi Pro League, although this did heartbreakingly see Kyōgo Furuhashi go in the opposite direction.
Now, could the Scottish champions be in the market for a new centre-back?
Celtic looking to bolster their back-line
According to a report by Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports News, Celtic are “interested” in Odense centre-back Tobias Slotsager.
The report notes that talks have already taken place with the defender’s agents and with the player out of contact in the summer, he could be signed on a Bosman.
So who is Tobias Slotsager?
What the experts say about Tobias Slotsager
Well, Slotsager is a 19-year-old centre-back, who’s been with Odense Boldklub since the age of 13, making his professional debut three years later against Vejle Boldklub in May 2022.
In total, he’s now made 59 appearances for OB, earning rave reviews, despite the fact the Striwerne were actually relegated from the Danish Superligaen last season, thereby dropping out of the top flight for the first time since 1999.
Despite his team’s struggles, Jamie Rietiker-Wright of Sport Republic believes Slotsager is “a special young defender”. Further reviews come from Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout who labelled him a “complete & elegant centre-back”, while a report by Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur described him as a “towering defender”, exclaiming he is “one of the greatest talents” in football right now.
Slotsager featured in the Guardian’s Next Generation series for 2023, in which Michael Yokhin noted he is “tactically astute way beyond his age”, while Odense youth coach Tonny Hermansen stated “Tobias is a player with huge potential, and we believe that he could go really far. Despite all the praise, [he] keeps his feet on the ground and continues to work hard in every training session”.
How Tobias Slotsager could be Celtic's next Ajer
A move for Slotsager would be reminiscent of when Celtic signed an 18-year-old Kristoffer Ajer from Eliteserien outfit Start in 2016, for a reported £650,000.
Ajer would go on to make 176 appearances for Celtic, winning nine major trophies, before being sold to Brentford for £13.5m, representing a massive profit.
So, let’s compare Ajer’s time in Norway to Slotsager’s career in Denmark so far.
Slotsager at Odense vs Ajer at Start
Statistics (per 90)
Slotsager
Ajer
Appearances
59
61
Minutes
4,259
4,706
Tackles
0.93
2.5
Interceptions
0.63
1.2
Clearances
3.5
1.2
% of ground duels won
66.2%
71.4%
% of aerial duels won
50.8%
57.3%
Average Sofascore rating
6.84
6.95
Statistics courtesy of SofaScore and Transfermarkt
As shown in the table, Ajer was similarly inexperienced when he joined Celtic as Slotsager is now, having made a similar number of appearances and minutes at similar levels; Denmark’s top-flight is currently ranked 16th by UEFA, albeit OB are currently in the second-tier, while the Norwegian first division actually came in at 22nd when Ajer most-recently played there in 2016.
Former Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer.
In terms of the other statistics, Ajer does come out on top, but that does not mean Slotsager’s numbers are not impressive because, as noted by Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout, the teenager ranked first in last season’s Superligaen for % of defensive duels won (82.5%).
Given he is still only 19, Slotsager may not be ready to have an immediate impact in Celtic’s first team, similar to Ajer, who spent the second half of his first season in Scotland on loan at Kilmarnock, but this young defender appears to be a special talent, so the Premiership champions should do everything in their power to snap-up his future.
He's very similar to Kuhn: Celtic submit bid to sign "excellent" new star
Celtic are seeking to sign a new winger before the transfer window closes, adding firepower to front-line that already features, Jota, Maeda and Kühn.
After just over a month of constant rumours, speculation, and deals, transfer deadline day is finally here, but so far, Arsenal’s list of incomings is entirely blank.
Mikel Arteta’s side are still just about in the Premier League title race, flying in the Champions League and could even overturn their 2-0 deficit in the League Cup on Wednesday, but to give themselves the best chance of winning anything this year, they’ll surely need to make an addition to the squad before the window slams shut tonight.
Now, the North Londoners have been trying to strengthen their squad, with concrete links to players such as RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, but to little success.
Fee
Fee
None
Josh Robinson (Wigan)
Undisc.
Marquinhos (Cruzeiro)
Loan
Fortunately, with just a day remaining, recent reports have strongly linked the club with one of the most exciting up-and-coming attackers in European football, a youngster who’d be the perfect replacement for the ageing Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal chasing in-demand star
According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are one of several clubs who remain incredibly keen on Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel.
Plettenberg has revealed that, as things stand, no club has been able to reach an agreement with the German behemoths regarding the French talent and that while the Gunners are “in talks” with them, there will be “no panic sale.”
One of the major stumbling blocks for the Red Devils appears to have been the fact that Bayern wanted them to sign the 19-year-old on a permanent deal or on loan with an obligation to buy, which could potentially be an issue for the North Londoners as well, especially as the offer they accepted from Tottenham Hotspur last week stood at around £50m.
Mathys Tel
It could be a complicated and potentially costly transfer to get over the line before the end of the day, but given Tel’s immense ability and potential, it is one well worth fighting for, especially as the club need to be thinking about a Trossard replacement.
Why Tel would be a dream Trossard replacement
So, the first thing to clear up is just why Arsenal would want to sign a replacement for Leandro Trossard this month, especially as it was only last season that he racked up a tally of 19 goal involvements in 46 games.
Well, it comes down to two things. The first is that while he was exceptional last year, this season has been a different story altogether, and while still reasonably impressive, a tally of five goals and six assists in 35 games isn’t really enough for a side gunning for the title.
The second reason is that, at 30 years old, the Waterschei-born winger is far closer to the end of his career than the start, and while footballers of today can play longer than they did in the past, research carried out by The Athletic revealed that wingers peak at around 26 and experience an incredibly sharp decline in their ability to take on defenders when they reach 30.
Moreover, with reports coming out last month that little to no progress was being made on a new contract for the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace, it makes sense to start looking for a young and exciting long-term replacement, which in this case would be Tel.
Now, it is true that the Frenchman hasn’t had the best of campaigns this year, but that is almost entirely down to the fact that Vincent Kompany has barely played him, as he’s made just four starts across 14 appearances, totalling 458 minutes.
Appearances
41
Starts
10
Minutes
1406′
Goals
10
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.39
Minutes per Goal Involvement
87.87′
However, when you look at how effective the Sarcelles-born dynamo was last season, the clamour from other sides to secure his signature becomes far easier to understand.
For example, in just 1406 minutes across 41 appearances, the “mind-blowing” talent, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored ten goals and provided six assists, meaning he maintained an average of a goal involvement every 87.87 minutes, which is an awe-inspiring rate of return.
Moreover, considering that he produced those numbers despite being just 18 at the start of the campaign, it really does feel like the sky is the limit for the Bayern ace.
Ultimately, with Trossard being on the wrong side of 30 and his rate of return declining this season, it’s time Arsenal signed a proper long-term replacement for him, and based on his sensational form last season, Tel appears to be the perfect candidate.
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بات مستقبل ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد محل تساؤلات كبيرة، بعدما كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية أن ليفربول قد يوافق على رحيله إلى ريال مدريد قبل نهاية عقده، لكن بشروط محددة.
ليفربول وضع شرطين أساسيين للموافقة على انتقال أرنولد مبكرًا، رغم تبقي أسابيع قليلة على نهاية عقده مع ليفربول رسميًا في 30 يونيو.
اقرأ أيضًا | ماريسكا: تشيلسي سيقيم ممرًا شرفيًا لـ ليفربول.. ولديهم ميزة أكبر مقارنةً بنا
الشرط الأول يتمثل في أن يتقدم اللاعب بنفسه بطلب رسمي للمغادرة، ما يعني أن النادي لن يتخذ القرار من طرفه، بل ينتظر رغبة واضحة ومعلنة من المدافع الدولي.
أما الشرط الثاني، فهو تنازل أرنولد عن راتبه عن شهر يونيو بالكامل، والذي يُقدر بنحو مليون جنيه إسترليني، مما يعفي ليفربول من أي التزام مالي إضافي.
وبحسب صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية، فإن ريال مدريد يخطط لحسم الصفقة قبل انطلاق كأس العالم للأندية، حيث يأمل في إشراك اللاعب في البطولة المرتقبة هذا الصيف.
رغم أن الصفقة قد تتم دون مقابل انتقال رسمي، إلا أن ريال مدريد سيكون مطالبًا بدفع تعويض بسيط، كجزء من الاتفاق المتوقع مع ليفربول.
تشير التقديرات إلى أن التكلفة الإجمالية للصفقة ستتراوح بين 1.2 و1.7 مليون جنيه إسترليني، وهو ما يقل كثيرًا عن القيمة السوقية للاعب.
أرنولد كان أحد أبرز رموز ليفربول في السنوات الأخيرة، ورحيله المحتمل قد يُشكّل خسارة كبيرة للفريق، خاصة بعد التتويج الأخير بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي.
The January transfer window officially opens for business on Wednesday and it remains to be seen how busy Celtic will be ahead of the second half of the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are currently 14 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, have lost once in six Champions League games, and already won the League Cup.
There is no immediate need for them to rip up their squad and make drastic changes to the group in the winter window, but there could still be some movement.
One player who could be on the chopping block, however, is Scotland international Greg Taylor, after his performance in the cup final clash with Rangers.
Why Celtic should move on from Greg Taylor
Despite scoring in the 3-3 draw, before Celtic won on penalties, the left-back did not enjoy the best afternoon and made a critical error for the first goal in the match, giving the ball away in the build-up to Nedim Bajrami’s strike.
Popular account ‘Everything Celtic’ on X posted that the former Kilmarnock “just secured his departure” as he “hasn’t been good enough for Celtic for a long time” during the match. They also added that they would like to see him moved on in January.
Taylor, 27, has started 12 of the club’s 18 league games so far this season, which does not suggest that Rodgers is looking to immediately ditch him from the club.
Celtic defender Greg Taylor
However, the Northern Irish boss could finally bin the defender from the squad by securing an in-house deal for Alex Valle to be the long-term first-choice in that position, in a deal similar to the one that secured the services of Jota under Ange Postecoglou.
Celtic signed Jota on loan from Benfica initially, before they landed a permanent deal for £6.5m in the summer of 2022, and then sold him to Al Ittihad for a whopping £25m after two years at Parkhead.
As you can see in the graphic above, his spell in Scotland was incredibly productive at the top end of the pitch, with just shy of 60 goal contributions in 83 matches.
Why Alex Valle could be Jota 2.0
Celtic could ditch Taylor and land Jota 2.0 by swooping to sign Valle on a permanent deal from Barcelona, as he is a young star with huge potential.
At the age of 20, the Spaniard has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and hone his skills, which means that the Hoops could invest in his talent and provide him with a platform to showcase his ability over the coming years – as they did with Jota.
His performances when given a chance to shine this season have been encouraging and suggest that he is ready to step up and take Taylor’s place long-term, which would then allow Rodgers to finally axe the Scottish defender.
Starts
12
6
Assists
4
3
Key passes per game
1.4
1.8
Pass accuracy
88%
88%
Dribbled past per game
0.5x
0.4x
As you can see in the table above, Valle has assisted a goal every other start on average, compared to Taylor’s one in three, and has been dribbled past fewer times per match.
These statistics suggest that the 20-year-old, who was hailed as a “top-notch” defender by former coach Oscar Lopez, has the potential to be an upgrade on the Scotland international, if he can maintain that level of performance over the course of a season.
Therefore, Celtic should look to repeat the trick they played with Jota by securing an in-house deal to sign Valle permanently, as he could be an excellent long-term addition for the Hoops, based on his strong form when called upon this term.
Rodgers could land big Maeda upgrade in Celtic swoop for £5m talent
Celtic could improve the quality of their attack by making this signing in January.
Na manhã deste sábado (2), o Corinthians divulgou sua lista de inscritos para a disputa da Copa Libertadores. O Timão estreia na competição na terça-feira (5), contra o Always Ready, da Bolívia, em La Paz, no estádio Hernando Siles, às 21h30, horário de Brasília.
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> GALERIA – Relembre as estreias do Timão na Copa Libertadores
A lita da comissão técnica corintiana, chefiada por Vítor Pereira, para o torneio continental conta com o volante Maycon, cedido por empréstimo peloShakhtar Donetsk, da Ucrânia, até o final da temporada. O atleta, que irá vestir a camisa 5, já apareceu no BID da CBF e está regularizado para estrear pelo alvinegro paulista.
O técnico português vem dando oportunidades para os Crias do Terrão nos treinos da equipe, e isso se refletiu na lista do clube para a Libertadores. Ao todo, 15 jogadores do Sub-20 do Timão foram inscritos por VP.
> TABELA – A Libertadores vem aí! Confira a tabela e simule os primeiros jogos
Do elenco principal, apenas o defensor Danilo Avelar e o meia Ruan Oliveira não foram inscritos por Vítor Pereira. O primeiro vem treinando com o elenco, mas o clube busca negociá-lo, tendo em vista o episódio no qual Avelarfoi autor de uma injuria racial enquanto participava de um jogo online.
Ruan Oliveira está no departamento médico do clube, tratando de uma lesão de ligamento no joelho esquerdo.
Veja a lista e numeração dos atletas inscritos para a fase de grupos da Libertadores 1 – Ivan 2 – João Pedro 3 – Robson 4 – Gil 5 – Maycon 6 – Lucas Piton 7 – Luan 8 – Renato Augusto 9 – Guedes 10 – Willian 11 – Giuliano 12 – Cássio 13 – Belezi 14 – Biro 15 – Paulinho 16 – Léo Mana 17 – Jô 18 – Júnior Moraes 19 – Gustavo Silva 20 – Matheus Araújo 22 – Carlos Miguel 23 – Fagner 24 – Cantillo 25 – Reginaldo 26 – Fábio Santos 27 – Bruno Melo 28 – Adson 29 – Roni 30 – Robert 31 – Gustavo Mantuan 32 – Matheus Donelli 33 – João Victor 34 – Raul 35 – Murillo 36 – Breno Bidon 37 – Du Queiroz 38 – Pedro 39 – Xavier 40 – Guilherme 41 – Felipe Augusto 42 – Keven 43 – Zé Vitor 44 – Alan Gobetti 45 – Pedrinho 46 – Alemão
It did feel written into the script that Gary O’Neil was going to be axed as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager eventually, even with the Wolves board giving him a vote of confidence after a barrage of losses.
A last-gasp loss to relegation rivals Ipswich Town proved to be the final straw, as Jack Taylor’s dramatic header caused a chorus of boos to fill Molineux at the final whistle, with brawls involving Wolves players souring the mood even more at the close of the tense clash.
Now, it’s up to a fresh face to pick up the Premier League strugglers and breathe life back into proceedings away from O’Neil, with one name looking more likely by the day to be his immediate successor.
The next Wolves manager
That face is Vitor Pereira, with Sky Sports News reporting now that the current Al-Shabab boss is nearing a deal to become the next Old Gold manager.
This would make sense as the struggling club’s next appointment, as Wolves are known to favour Portuguese imports, as seen in previous managers such as Nuno Espirito Santo and the make-up of much of the squad.
But, nothing is set in stone until an official announcement is out in the open, with the managerless Old Gold also reportedly looking at this EFL experienced boss as their next man for the dug-out.
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Wolves' "excellent" Pereira alternative
As per football journalist Ben Jacobs, John Eustace is “in the frame” to be Wolves’ next manager after the disastrous end to O’Neil’s time in the West Midlands, with the 45-year-old currently succeeding at the helm of Blackburn Rovers.
Already well known to football fans in the Midlands region for his time at Birmingham City, the Old Gold hierarchy could well swoop in last minute to hand him the reins over the inexperienced Pereira if that move doesn’t go to plan.
Birmingham City's former manager John Eustace.
Eustace was a steady presence at St. Andrew’s during some turbulent recent times in Birmingham’s history, so he could well be the desired figure Wolves need for some momentary calm, having overseen 21 wins in charge of the Blues before his dismissal then signalled relegation for the club.
He has since bounced back from that controversial sacking, as the popular 45-year-old has steered the Riversiders into a surprise playoff spot this season to date, with a remarkable defensive record on display that would lend itself well to the leaky Wolves back four.
Blackburn’s last five results in the Championship
Opponent
Score
1. Luton Town
2-0 win
2. Sheffield Wednesday
1-0 win
3. Hull City
1-0 win
4. Leeds United
1-0 win
5. Middlesbrough
1-0 win
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Amazingly, Blackburn have picked up six wins on the trot in the unforgiving division of the Championship, with zero goals shipped across their last five victories against some tough opponents in the form of Daniel Farke’s Leeds United and Rob Edwards’ Luton Town.
With Wolves conceding goals for fun as of late near the foot of the Premier League, having now shipped an abysmal 40 strikes, Eustace could well be an unflashy appointment that works for Wolves in their short-term dismal situation, away from tempting Pereira to leave Saudi Arabia for a relegation battle.
Rightfully praised for his heroics in Lancashire so far this season, with equally glowing words coming his way from football journalist Alan Biggs during his stint at Birmingham who labelled the 45-year-old as “excellent”, the time could be right for him to win himself a Premier League calibre job post.
It does seem likely that the Wolves hierarchy will go in a different direction by appointing Pereira, but for some stability in what is a basket-case time at Molineux, the Old Gold would do far worse than to hand Eustace the role instead.
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Sky Sports has provided an update on Aston Villa’s potential future recruitment, with the Villans having made a “concrete enquiry” for a new midfielder.
Aston Villa eyeing reinforcements
With the January transfer window fast approaching, Aston Villa are expected to be busy as Unai Emery continues to craft a side capable of challenging at the top of the Premier League and Europe.
They have been strongly linked with a move for a new forward, while there is also concern over the future of defender Diego Carlos, who was made available for transfer over the summer window and could still leave this coming January.
Aston Villa closing in on move to sign £5.7k-p/w midfielder for Unai Emery
He could arrive at Villa Park either in January or in the summer.
1 ByBen Browning Nov 30, 2024
Having struggled in recent weeks, it will likely be a case of adding depth to the squad rather than a major overhaul at Villa Park, but they may be forced to wait until the summer to get the man they seemingly really want.
Aston Villa make enquiry for new midfielder
That comes as a fresh update has been forthcoming on Aston Villa’s interest in PSV Eindhoven star Malik Tillman.
The USA star has enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign and has drawn rave reviews for his performances in the Champions League and Eredivisie, with the ex-Rangers man enjoying a purple patch with the Dutch side.
Appearances
19
Goals
8
Assists
4
Yellow Cards
2
Minutes per goal/assist
121
It emerged last week that the USMNT forward was “surfacing” as a potential new recruit at Villa Park, and now Sky Sports has gone further, providing a fresh development.
Indeed, Sky Sport in Germany claims that “there are already several concrete inquiries for a winter transfer” and add that “Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa are among those interested” in the former Bayern Munich man.
Bayern, for their part, have a buy-back clause for the American, but it is added that “a return to FC Bayern is currently considered unrealistic”, while Tillman “sees himself in the long term at an ambitious top club, with the Premier League being a major goal”.
However, his arrival in England won’t be cheap, with the midfielder still having almost four years left to run on his £250,000-a-year deal in Eindhoven. Sky adds that there is a release clause in his contract set at between €30-40m (£25-33m), but that it does not come into effect until the summer, meaning that a January transfer would likely be expensive.
Villa are clearly on the hunt for more attacking firepower and have been linked with several attacking midfielders as they look to find competition for Morgan Rogers. Tillman’s “phenomenal” performances have seen him catch the eye, and football analyst Ben Mattinson claims that the PSV man “reminds me of Morgan Rogers”.
Could he be the perfect man to help share the workload with the England international at Villa Park?